Cristiano Ronaldo Talks Career Achievements With Rio Ferdinand

It was recently announced that Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo was set to release a new Nike football boot, the “Chapter 5: Cut to Brilliance.” To mark that release, Ronaldo sat down with his former Manchester United teammate Rio Ferdinand to talk about the boot and how it represents the “dream of a kid.” The conversation between the two also covers how it felt when Ronaldo signed for Real Madrid back in 2009, and his greatest achievements both on and off the pitch.

Alongside the interview, Rio Ferdinand has also written an essay describing his earliest memories of playing with Ronaldo and how the “quite shy” young player became arguably the best in the world. For Ferdinand, this meteoric rise — from being “a showman” in 2003 to the “the benchmark” in 2017 — is down to Ronaldo’s dedication: “it was his work ethic — his passion for continually improving — that stood out to me. That was his x-factor. He had all the ingredients — skill, mentality, focus — and when he put them together, he became what he is now.”

Watch the interview between Ferdinand and Ronaldo above, and you can read the full text from Ferdinand over on the Nike website.